


In the Shadow of the Storm

by marmolady



Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: Choices, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-12 02:57:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20135344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marmolady/pseuds/marmolady
Summary: Set at the beginning of Book 3. In the wake of the group’s disastrous escape from MASADA, of unimaginable carnage beyond La Huerta, of losing the woman who made her believe in a future, Estela is left reeling.





	In the Shadow of the Storm

In the dark, the shelter of thick jungle foliage was enough that Estela could try to sleep, relatively confident that she’d be hidden from any threatening presence. If that cold feeling in the pit of her stomach was anything to go by, though, the thought of sleep was just wishful thinking. After everything that had just happened...

“You and Princess, huh? I’m guessin’ it’s serious, you strike me as the kinda person to go in hard or not at all.”

Estela winced at the sound of Jake’s voice, and said nothing. What was there to talk about anyway? More than likely, Taylor was dead. She’d known-- she’d _known _it would end this way. Of course, it had to! This world simply wasn’t capable of producing anything good and beautiful without promptly stamping it out.

“Look, I’m sorry, Katniss. I know you two were close… I mean, we all knew- those tents weren’t exactly soundproof…” Jake spoke to pointed silence. He didn’t know what else to do. The end of the world, almost everyone he cared about on the island was either lost, dead, brainwashed, imprisoned or a backstabbing traitor. It was pretty freaking dire, and joking through it was all he had. Something told him that such an approach would not go down well with Estela. “I’ve just got a feeling, though; she’s a helluva lot stronger than she looks… and we weren’t high enough that there’s _no _chance…”

“Jake.” Estela finally turned; her expression stony. She’d had about enough. “Do I _look_ like I want to talk about it? No? That’s what I thought.”

When no retort came, she settled herself back on her side. Or at least, she tried to settle. It was like her brain was scrambled; there was just too much whirring around, and she couldn’t begin to make sense of it. Just hours ago, Estela had been holding the gun to Lila’s head, prepared to take the vengeance she’d dedicated herself to for the past six years. And she hadn’t pulled the trigger. Granted, she’d known that Lila was already good as dead, but something had shifted. It should feel like something huge, _momentous_, but it paled in the wake of the destruction she’d seen when they’d ventured through the Lerneaen Gate. The world was destroyed. Her _tio _was dead. After everything he’d sacrificed to bring peace to San Trobida, risking his life time and time again; it was wiped out, just like that. And now, Taylor… _Taylor._ It was all Estela could do not to scream. _No! Focus. If you’re gonna survive out here; if you’re gonna find everyone, keep them safe, you’ve got to keep your head. Stop freaking out, and go to sleep. Focus…_

She was not surprised to find herself in love with a woman, so much as she was surprised to find herself in love at all. Estela hadn’t so much as toyed with the idea since she was a naïve child. Romance was of fairy tales, of the same vein of flowery fantasy as magical godmothers, geese that lay golden eggs, and wicked spells that could be broken by a simple kiss. One grew out of fairy tales fast when the world seemed to be imploding around you. As she grew older, a young woman utterly dedicated to bringing down powers of evil and corruption, there was little time for her to dwell on fleeting sexual desires. Intimacy was danger, and she was no fool. Trusting only her mother and uncle, and with no expectation of living long enough that she might succumb to loneliness, Estela was a cold and distant island.

It was Taylor’s eyes that first caught her attention. Blue as a clear sky, with not a hint of frost in the piercing gaze. Just simple curiosity, intrigue even. People avoided eye contact with Estela-- even before her face had been forever scarred by a long, vertical slash; but since… since she’d carried that scar, for a stranger not to glance away, unnerved, was all but unheard of. But Taylor stared back as if entranced, wanting to know her. It was as if a warm jolt of electricity had fired something up at Estela’s core. From something so simple, her walls, so meticulously built, were doomed to crumble.

Now, Estela missed the walls that had once protected her heart. And yet… and yet, she couldn’t regret surrendering her defences. Her heart was on the verge of shattering, but she’d never dream of giving up the things she’d felt. With her friends… with Taylor. But if they were gone, if the world had collapsed and died in flames, if her beautiful Taylor was really dead; what was the fucking point anymore?

Feeling a chill, she crept closer to Jake. He’d kept his trap shut long enough that she could go to him whilst keeping face. “Hey. I’m a little cold; you don’t mind if I…?”

“Go ahead. Don’t bite, do ya?”

“Not right now.” Estela tucked herself up against his back, grateful of the company in spite of everything. All that snarky bullshit, it was just his way of protecting himself; sometimes you just had to do what you had to do, otherwise you’d be dragged under. She could understand that. They lay together quietly, letting the minutes drag by them. Estela didn’t know how she’d ever sleep. She knew she needed to take care of herself; if there was any chance at all that her friends were out there, alive somewhere, she had to be strong. But images of loss and despair haunted her whenever she closed her eyes.

“Jake? That Arachnid soldier, Mouse. That was your friend, the one who tried to expose Lundgren with you?

For a little while, Estela wasn’t sure if she’d waited too long, if her friend had fallen asleep, but then the reply came… in a voice so plainly vulnerable, sincere, that it took her by surprise.

“I really thought he was dead. For _years_, I thought he was dead. And I don’t know what I feel now; should I be relieved that he’s not… or is this… worse? Is he even the same guy anymore, underneath everything that sonuva-bitch programmed into him? I’ve gotta believe he’s still there…”

Tentatively, Estela put an arm around Jake’s shoulder. “I can’t imagine much worse; to have lost all control, to be used as a weapon against someone you love. I’m sorry.”

“But while he’s still breathing, and I’m still breathing, I won’t give up on him.”

“No. No, you shouldn’t give up. Succeed or die trying.’

“How are you not dead already?”

Estela couldn’t help but smirk. “My uncle trained me well. And I guess luck played a part.” The smile faltered. _Luck. It could just as easily have been her falling out of that helicopter; not Taylor. It would have been better that way; she was a far stronger swimmer, maybe she’d have had a chance…_

Again, quiet fell between them. It was comfortable, surprisingly so. Just comfortable enough…

“Taylor and me; it was- _is_\- we’re together. I’m… in love with her.”

Jake spoke with a slight laugh to his voice. “Wow, you got in deep fast. Everyone had pretty much got it sussed ages ago that there was _something _going on between the two of you. The princess and the assassin, a romance for the ages.”

“I’m glad you think it’s funny,” Estela growled, rolling over so that her back was to his. This was what she got for opening up… “You do know she’s probably dead? If I’d just been holding her--“

“_Hey…._ You did everything you could. It ain’t your fault. It was a damn miracle we got as far as we did out here without getting split up. I ain’t ready to throw in the towel and assume she’s gone, and ya know what, Sarah Connor? I don’t reckon you are either.”

“Of course not. As long as there’s a chance…” She faltered. “But I’m very afraid. With Taylor, I found part of me that I thought had died a long time ago… felt things I didn’t think I ever could. I… I don’t think I’m ready to lose her.” To Estela’s horror, she found herself weeping into her grazed hands, unable to hold back the swell of emotion. She couldn’t have lost another person she loved as collateral damage to whatever Rourke was scheming, she just _couldn’t._ It was simply too much to bear. Then, there was the muffled sound of sniffling beside her, and she and Jake lay there and cried, back-to-back, mourning a world that seemed lost, the friends who would soon be dead if they weren’t already. There was so little time to stop and grieve; they had to keep on trying, keep on _fighting_ what was beginning to feel inevitable. Just a few minutes before they slept… it was all the time for tears they could afford.

* * *

_“Taylor!”_

_Even as she dove forward, Estela could not reach far enough, and Taylor was flung from the gaping side of the helicopter as if a ragdoll. Somehow, as if she were calling on every ounce of strength in her slight body, Taylor grabbed onto the landing skid with an unpleasant lurch, and hung there, her knuckles white with the desperate force of her grip. With wind rushing all around, Estela lay down on the floor and inched nearer, knowing that one wrong move could kill the both of them. Seeking Taylor’s eyes, which were wide with panic, she reached for her._

No. No, I’m not gonna let you go…. “_Give me… your… hand!”_

_Taylor flailed. Trying, trying so hard to stretch out her right hand far enough. The distance was closing… they were close…_

_“Estela… I’m slipping!”_

_It wasn’t close enough… she couldn’t reach… Estela pushed the limits of her body, even as cold fear settled in her churning stomach. _No… it couldn’t end like this. _“You have to hold on! I can’t lose you!” Her breath shuddered. “Please… I need you, Taylor! I can… almost… reach…”_

_The pain of stretching to her breaking point meant nothing. She was so fucking close. For a miraculous split second, her fingers brushed Taylor’s, and then it was all over. Taylor’s hand slipped._

_“Taylor!”_

_And she was gone._

Estela awoke to the sound of thunder cracking like a whip through the air. The sky was dark; when she’d dropped off, it had been early evening… it didn’t feel like much time had passed. Already, Jake was stirring beside her. It had been three days… or at least, she _thought _it had been three days --the passage of time on La Huerta was screwy and seemingly getting only screwier-- since they’d parted ways with Sean and Craig. She’d slept little. The few hours respite she did manage were haunted by the horrors of days preceding, a reminder of how she’d been unable to save another person she’d loved. For all the years of making herself strong, when it had truly mattered, she’d fallen short.

That a few nights ago she’d been huddled in a warm tent, wrapped in her lover’s arms and on the brink of believing that she might have a future; it seemed impossible. This was the new reality; her friends gone, and what was left of the world disintegrating around her. It was almost like a sick joke. Everything she’d worked so hard for… none of it mattered. Not next to the deep, aching loss… the whole freaking world. And Taylor. _Taylor… _It had been Rourke- _again _it had been Rourke. _That fucking bastard! _Everything, _everything _she’d loved, that monster had destroyed. All she could do now was to keep trudging on through the forest, looking for any sign, anything at all, to tell her that there was still the faintest glimmer of hope. Estela held onto the knowledge that Varyyn was with the group who’d escaped in the gondola; he’d keep them safe- she had to believe it. But Quinn, Zahra, Taylor… they’d plummeted to the sea, with little chance of survival. It hurt her heart, but Estela remained focused, sharp; there was nothing more she knew how to do.

“All right, pilot, that’s enough sleep.” The storm had a strange quality to it, as if coming from the ground beneath their feet as well as the sky. As if Atropo itself were alive and angry. One thing was for certain; they couldn’t stay where they were. “Let’s move.”

Jake grumbled as he got up, stretching weary limbs, but he could sense the danger in the air as well as she did. “Not wanting to be a Debbie Downer… but that smell of smoke ain’t my imagination, is it?”

“Since when is anything bad on this goddamn island ever just our imagination?” Estela responded darkly. If there was a way their situation could get worse, she could bet quite reliably that it would. “The lightning must have ignited something… unless it’s the volcano.” _Or both. That would be about right._

She led the way through the thick foliage, trying to pinpoint where the scent was coming from. The last thing they needed was to get trapped between a blaze and a volcanic eruption. In the dark, the forest was treacherous, lit only by glowing flowers and intermittent flashes of lightning. Her instincts told her to stay down low, avoiding the worst of the smoke… but the forest was so dense that for all they knew, they could be stumbling into danger. She needed to get up high, to know for certain what they were heading towards; and to be sure… to be _totally _sure, that none of their friends were in the path of an inferno.

Estela skilfully climbed a tall tree, clambering upwards, the branches thinning out just enough that she could gaze through the canopy.

“Ya see anything, Katniss?”

The view across the slopes of Atropo took her breath away. Pockets of light painted the landscape, flashing into existence one after the other… rifts in time. Usually, such a sight might have demanded alarm, but Estela struggled to tear her eyes from the top of the volcano, which was violently spewing molten lava into the plumes of black smoke, and spilling down the mountain in a glowing cascade. Her throat grew tight. If they wanted to find any of their friends alive, they were running out of time, fast.

“Shit,” she gasped. Her eyes were wide as she watched lightning explode from orbs, leaving the sky crackling with energy. “That’s not a normal storm. I hope you’re ready to run for your life.”

Jake gave a dry, rather hysterical laugh. “Couldn’t have just been all our pals cooking s’mores around a campfire? Had to be a fuckin’ volcano…”

Estela’s gaze wandered up from the fast-flowing river of lava, to a patch of forest on higher ground where a fire surged onwards. Even through the billowing dark clouds, she could make out a figure -or was it two? – fighting to outpace the flames. She squinted in the hot air, trying to focus. It was Yvonne… Yvonne and—Estela’s breath caught in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat. There, shrouded in smoke, pale skin appearing to glow in the wake of the flames all around… Taylor. A sight that made Estela’s knees buckle, almost unbalancing her in her precarious perch. _She’s alive…_

“Jake! Jake, it’s Taylor- we’ve gotta move, now!”

Her feet barely touched the tree as she hurled herself downwards, and then she ran, almost oblivious to Jake’s pounding feet behind her. The soot in the air was choking, and it was all Estela could do not to gasp it in as she sprinted, running harder than she had in all her life, blind to everything in her path in her desperation to reach the woman she loved. To reach her Taylor. _She’s alive… she’s alive…_

The slight blonde was hunched over on the ground, choking, spluttering. She was struggling. No matter how she pushed herself, Estela couldn’t get to her fast enough; the distance felt like it took an eternity to cross. _Taylor… hold on- please, please hold on… _And then, she emerged through the smoke…

“Come on, Taylor! I’ve got you!”

“Estela?” Surprise and relief showed in every line of Taylor’s ash-dusted face as she coughed out her lover’s name. She reached out for Estela, and the moment they touched was electric.

Her arm hooking around Taylor’s shoulders; Estela pulled her to her feet, pulled her into her own waiting arms. Once again, there was no time; no room for emotion to cloud her mind. If she let herself get lost in her feelings, she might fail Taylor all over again. She wouldn’t, _couldn’t _let that happen. But even as adrenaline surged through her body, the weight of Taylor, safe in her arms… the feeling was like coming up for air after nearly drowning. Then, she felt Taylor’s arm reach around her waist, holding on as they ran for safety, together. Never again would Estela let her go. Never again would she let her down. Never, ever again.


End file.
